Gold Rush and Silver Slouch
by Crazy Dewfus
Summary: A stallion at the end of his days tells the tale of his life. From rags to riches to being cut down. (Inspired by a song)
1. Chapter 1: They Lived By A Six Gun

They Lived By A Six Gun…

 _Silversight's Story_

A group of ponies sat around an aged stallion, his wrinkled skin showing his age of "alive too long". He licked his parched lips, sighing. "So, you wanna hear my story, huh?" They nodded. The group consisted of a mare in a suit, one wearing a balaclava, a stallion in a medic outfit, a mare in a skintight leather jumpsuit, and a stallion looking straight out of a WWII movie. While the very old stallion the the center of the group wore his vest and golden revolver like a second skin, while his first skin grew his coat grey and his mane and tail white. Oddly, such a combination was not due to old age. "Alright. Suppose its time for it to be told. After all, each cowpony has a sad story."

" _I never thought too much about the reason my father took us out there when I was that age."_

A train bolted down the track, its look outdated and sizeable locomotive spewing out black smoke. A young colt with the same features stuck his head out the window, looking around at the nothingness that the majority of the Equestrian Southwest had to offer.

" _I now understand that because of the Gold Rush he seeked to get us a better life. So, we headed west. I was about 10 at the time, and the idea of moving from our small cabin sounded amazing. I thought I'd be a fun adventure and I'd get my cutiemark. I was right about one of those."_

A small cabin sat far from any civilization. Nothing could be seen from the house, except a speck of light from a mine. Two parents and the grey foal sat around a campfire. What was on the fire cooking was a small amount of greens, not as much even for one pony. The mother's white coat was stained, and she barely managed to style her mane. "Trick Shot, you need to find a job. This will never work." The father was not much better off, his red coat showing his ribs. He looked so hungry, he could even eat his shaggy brown mane. "Hard since I'm starving. I'm think our son could work." They both looked at him, and he hid his face in his hooves.

" _Well, it sucked. Papa has unknowingly bought a tiny shack that was meant for one pony. I suppose it didn't matter that he didn't know; he couldn't afford anything bigger. On top of that, it was deep in Buffalo territory. Papa wasn't a smart pony. He did one thing right though. One night, it all went south. Pardon the pun."_

Crickets chirped through the night as a small colt snuck out of the shack. The West was dark and cold at night, but he didn't care. He ran far from his home, so far he had to lay down for a moment. Then he spotted a farm in the distance, and ran toward it. It had lots of crops, mostly corn and wheat. The farmer was watching over them, and his attention was drawn to the grey colt running towards him. "Hey youngster, don't be stealin' anything. Don't think I won't shoot ya." The colt stopped in his tracks, "Mister, I was simply looking for work. Stealing is wrong." "Well, alright. Y'know how to plow fields?" Silversight smiled.

" _I worked for him for hours, and he gave me a few bits. It was pretty good pay for that time, especially for a foal. I was tired, and it'd be a few hours until the sun came up. I was worried that my parents would be mad at me for sneaking out, then I thought of their reaction when I gave them the bits so we could finally afford food. Well, I wasn't greeted by them. I was greeted by buffalo tracks and the sight of them headed away from my house."_

Silversight immediately started shaking, and ran to the shack. He opened the door slowly, and was met with a sight that was akin to a tornado hitting the building. Well, what could be a mess with a couple tables and bedding. The colt broke down in tears, climbing under the covers. He froze as he felt the barrel of a gun to his head. It was his dad's revolver; a Remington 1858 that had enough rust to be called junk and thrown to the streets, which was probably how it was obtained. He picked up the gun in his teeth, wincing at its horrid taste. He knew what he had to do, or die trying.

" _That night was a turning point in my life. That night I became a stallion. That night… was the worst night of my foalhood and the best night in the eyes of the law. I tracked those buffalo back to their camp. I hope I wasn't too late as I sneaked up behind four of 'em. A fire was burning behind them, their shadows giving away their positions."_

The colt watched them from the rock, then jumped out at them and pulled the trigger. The hammer jammed from the rust, and the buffalo laughed and said things in their native language. Things in the manner that made the colt angry. Angry enough to throw the gun against a rock. That knocked the hammer loose the a buffalo fell as a ball shot from the barrel.

Silver dove for the gun, shooting the other three in the head, wasting no ammo. To be fair, buffalo have big heads. They fell like boulders, making a pile of gross on the ground. Silversight stood there for a moment, shaking. After dropping the gun and taking a deep breath, he whispered…

" _Justice. My special talent is Justice. Fuck… I didn't notice until untying my half-dead mother from the stake she was burning on. As we hugged and cried from my dad dying, he died because he was so thin, less to burn to get to his important stuff, my mother pointed out my mark. We figured out that my talent wasn't shootin' ponies, because a talent like that just wouldn't be right, even though it was a revolver._

 _I would end up takin' care of her and treatin' her third degree burns with the help of a doctor. I had to take her all the way to this new town, 'Tombstone'..."_

Several Story Years Later….

" _Mum died a couple years after her nap, which was a fucking miracle because medical tech was shit compared to now and she was better off dying in her sleep. I worked for that farmer I met years before until she died, and I had to move on because working for him reminded me of the darker times in my life. So, I got a job for a silver mine; There was an ad in the town bar. This mine was owned by a unicorn mare, who's name was Golden Ore."_

An older Silversight took a pickaxe in his teeth and chipped away at the rock with about 20 other stallions. He worked for hours, picking and moving the minerals. Once in awhile, a yellow mare with a golden mane and decorated horn would walk out on the balcony yelling at the pony she thought was working the least in the most southern accent possible. "GET TO WORK YOU FOCKING SLACKERS OR I'LL HAVE YOUR NUTS ON MY WALL!" This got every stallions attention, and not only made them work got a lot of them hating her.

One dark night, that golden mare turned into a dark alley. She looked around nervously, keeping a grip on her Colt revolver. Each of her steps echoed through the alley, the clip clop of her hooves standing out amongst the silence. A stallion jumped out from a window and tackled her to the ground. He was stuffing a sock into her mouth, when he froze and blood leaked onto her face after a gunshot rang through the sleeping town. She looked up, and Silversight was looking at her with kind eyes, holding a smoking, rusty revolver.

" _After that, she took me on a date to repay for saving her life and bought me a new Remington to replace Papa's. The date went so well we stayed together. I got her to make working conditions better for the miners. We were the talk of the town, and with no surprise how quickly the news rang when I took her hoof in marriage. I also found out there were three sisters, each owned a mine and was in change of territory. We were happily married for five years, perhaps the oddest couple in the west. The gift from her for our fifth anniversary was this magic revolver that I named after her that I keep with me. My gift? Well, the best, gift a stallion can give. Hehe. Yeah, I know it's hard to imagine an old gunfighter like me making love."_

*The audience cringes*

" _Well, this was the best thing that happened in my life. The worst happened on the afternoon of that day. We decided to have some drinks at the Crystal Palace saloon."_

Silversight and Golden Ore stood outside of the saloon. Was a typical saloon, no need for special descriptions. As they were entering, a giddy mare went between the lovers, facing Golden Ore and acting like Silver didn't exist. She started talking frantically and incoherently when Golden shushed her. "Silver, go in before me. I'll only be a moment." He nodded, taking a seat at the bar, making note of the group of ponies shushing when he entered. The bartender smiled and gave him a very suggestive look.

"What're ya havin on your special day?" Silversight smiled back. "Just waiting for the missus to choose." They both shared a chuckle, then Golden Ore walked in. "Ok, I'm he-AAHHH*Gurgle* Silversight turned in shock as one of the outlaws had slashed her throat, then immediately had his head exploded all over the bar, his golden revolver smoking and… glowing. All hell broke loose as a gunfight erupted, Silversight jumping behind the bar and the outlaws flipping a table. Silver ducked behind the bar with the bartender, who grabbed a shotgun. They took turns leaning over the bar shooting. After about a minute that seemed like forever, Silversight's gun was empty. The weapon's cylinder was on a swing arm, new for that time. While watching him reload, the bartender asked "Hey, can that thing shoot through stuff?" They looked at the gun, then Silversight jumped from the bar and shot each outlaw in the head through the table, coating the walls with their brains. He holstered the weapon then jumped to the dead body of his wife, holding it and crying.

" _*Long Pause* They say that the brave never cry. This is a bloody lie. The heartless never cry. Considering she was armed, Golden Ore was buried on Boot Hill. Boot Hill is where the ponies who die in gunfights are buried. It's quite a noble end if ya ask me. I'm not gonna talk about the gunfight near the K.O. Corral, I don't wanna think about that time too much. As time went on, the town died but I stayed, I had a vault of silver and gold to keep for my wife. I lived as a hired gun as the law for nearby towns. I met an engineer passing though who gave me this life support machine to live for longer. I had to keep dealing justice to the west. And I had to look after and eventually pass on my silver fortune. Well, then you came along. I knew I was fighting for the right side despite your flaws, but now my job is done and I want to die."_

 _Author's Note: I am not good with combat scenes, sorry. I left out a lot of his history, for which I am sorry. I was also writing this at 2 am, so I was tired._


	2. Chapter 2: And By A Six Gun They Die

...And By A Six Gun They Die

 _Silversight's Ending_

The group stared. And stared. The room was silent with staring, everyone afraid to speak. Even the white mare with glassy eyes the the black suit stayed silent. Silversight stared at the white mare in the balaclava, and at the revolver holstered in her suit. "And you're going ta' help me. I challenge you to a gunfight".

Above ground, the winds howled through the ghost town as main street became alive once more. The two ponies walked out to the center of the street, turning their backs to each other and starting the 20-pace walk.

Watching while standing in a straight line were the other mercs, each dressed in 19th century attire. Caroline, the glassy-eyes mare, wore her corset rather nicely. Each of the others squirmed uncomfortably. Silversight was about ten steps in, when he turned and headed back. Each of his steps was shaky but practiced, looking as if stopping would make him lose balance. "Gotta say my goodbyes."

The mercs each showed progressive states of sadness as Silver went up to the first pony in the line. "Solly.. you are the most aware pony out of all of us. I hope you see what I see. I'll miss you." The next in the line wasn't a pony: he was a medi-bot painted red, dressed in a fancy suit. "0031… you are a good robot. Keep followin' your heart". He turned to the next: A stallion standing straight with a military haircut. Silver squinted at him for a moment, the stallion almost breaking stance. "Hmm… I don't know who the fuck you are." As he went to the next, the military stallion looked stunned.

He moved to the next, which was Caroline. The white mare with a yellow and black mane seemed oddly comfortable in her attire. She also didn't seem to breathe. Silversight looked tired as he looked into her artificial eyes. "You remind me of my Golden Ore: Her persistence, her professionalism, her hard headedness… but most of all, her beauty. I want to feel that one last time." With that, he kissed the mare while the whole stunned team watched. It lasted only two seconds, but Caroline stayed catatonic, unable to change her gaze from the spot in front of her.

Silver smiled and turned back, taking his spot slowly and agonizingly. They turned to face each other. Concentrated, professional eyes stared down unsure, sad ones. Time slowed as Silversight drew his revolver, the words "Golden Ore" engraved into the barrel. The gun lit up as he pulled the trigger, an almost molten enchanted .45-70 Gov't round flying down the street, his opponent's forehead exploding once the bullet reached the middle of her head.

The crowd was silent, and Silversight loosened his grip on his weapon. Then, after a crackling noise, the mare re-appeared and fired her revolver which had an engraving of an adventurous looking stallion on it. Once that bullet hit Silversight's head, it popped like a watermelon and he just.. flopped over.

The Mercs gathered around the grave up at Boot Hill, and watched as their sniper and long time friend was lowered into his grave and the dirt was shoveled over each shed a tear for him, and left after their goodbyes. The white mare that he dueled with, however, stayed awhile longer.

There's an old saying about the residents of Tombstone

 _ **They Lived By A Six Gun,**_

_**And By A Six Gun They Die**_


End file.
